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Crawford Trying To Get Back Soon
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Published: August 21, 2008
ST. PETERSBURG - Injured LF Carl Crawford showed up at Tropicana Field on Wednesday for the first time since undergoing surgery last week on his right middle knuckle.
While no firm timetable has been established for a return to the lineup - Tampa Bay executive vice president Andrew Friedman said early indications are the final series of the year might be a best-case scenario - Crawford said he isn't viewing the setback as season-ending.
"I'm going to try my best to get back as soon as possible," said Crawford, who wore a soft splint on his right hand. "I don't know how the rehab is going to go, I don't know how it's going to heal, but I'm definitely hoping for the best and I'm going to do what I can to get back on the field."
Crawford, who is scheduled to begin therapy by the end of the week, has been out of the lineup since feeling a pop in his right hand following a check swing in Seattle on Aug. 9. He suffered a subluxation of the middle knuckle on his right hand, an injury that allowed the ligament that controls the finger to fall out of the groove and lock Crawford's finger until the ligament was put back in place.
He knew the moment he felt the "pop" in his hand that the injury was going to be serious.
"I knew it was something bad, because you don't hear a pop like that in your hand. ... I just didn't know how bad," he said. "I was thinking it was pretty bad, but I wasn't thinking it would be season-ending, I don't ever think like that."
But as the Rays have done all season, the loss of Crawford - and rookie 3B Evan Longoria - has not resulted in losses on the field. Entering Wednesday's game, Tampa Bay had a 7-2 record without Crawford in the lineup, allowing the Rays to hold on to their lead in the American League East standings.
"This is a team that is not built for one person to make it win, it's a team effort," Crawford said. "So it doesn't surprise me that we are still able to win with certain guys out."
NAVARRO RESTS: With the games piling up behind the plate for C Dioner Navarro, Manager Joe Maddon gave the 24-year-old backstop Wednesday night off, hoping consecutive days off - the Rays' next game is Friday in Chicago - will allow Navarro to get some rest.
Navarro had caught 21 of 26 games since the All-Star break - not counting the eight innings he caught in the All-Star Game - before getting consecutive games off in Texas last weekend. After going 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter Wednesday, Navarro has gone 9-for-53 (.170) in the past 15 games, dropping his average from .313 to a season-low .290.
"We have to keep an eye on him, he's catching a lot and he's catching at a very high level," Maddon said. "And to me, the indicator that he might be getting tired is his batting average has started seeping back down and he's not hitting the ball as crisply as he had been, so I'm really watching that. But, more than his offense, it's all about defense in the position he's playing."
ETC: Maddon said with LHPs John Danks and Mark Buehrle scheduled to start two of the three games for the White Sox this weekend that OF Rocco Baldelli would likely get the start in both games. ... Former Rays RHP Al Reyes agreed to terms with the Mets on Wednesday.
Erik Erlendsson
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